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Lucy Arnold, Artist: View Galleries of New Work, Watercolor, Pastel, Mixed Media, Prints,
Beaded Jewelry, Beaded Earrings, Miniature Shoes, Card Gallery, Lucy's Letters
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© Lucy Arnold All rights reserved
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Fine Art of Lucy Arnold
Creativity, for me, comes in many forms. The various styles and media I use did not develop sequentially. Rather, I go back and forth between different means of expressing myself in fine art. One constant, however, is my love of color. It is the common denominator. I recall a professor in my very first figure drawing class suggest that I continue with painting courses since I had such a strong sense of color. I really didn't know what he was talking about. I had not noticed that no one else was interpreting the forms, lights, darks, warms and cools of the figure with vibrant turquoise, orange, green, purple, and blue! It didn't occur to me that not all artists are comfortable with, or in love with, color.
My inspiration comes from Nature, both external and internal. Little bits of natural debris find their way into my pockets when I'm walking in the woods or on the beach. Marin County is wonderful for being outdoors, of course. I end up with feathers, stones, shells, bones, seeds, leaves. These may sit on my desk for months. Eventually, a few special items will seem meant to go together. They take on a far greater significance when placed just so in perfect relationship to one another, ready to be models for a painting. For these ,very realistic images I begin with a detailed but very light pencil drawing, then proceed with watercolor. The result may look photo realistic, but I do not work from photographs unless absolutely necessary.
Flowers and butterflies are especially dear to my heart. They represent such incredible beauty in the small details of Nature that I am always on the lookout for them. You will find iris, orchids, roses, pansies, lisianthus, petunias, snapdragons, and many other garden and wildflowers in my galleries. If your favorite isn't there, I am happy to paint any flower on commission. A simple delight for me is to do a pen and ink, then watercolor illustration of flowers from life. A completely different approach is to do a large-scale blowup of a portion of a flower using very intense colors in pastels. This captures the mythic quality of a flower and allows the viewer to see an entirely new perspective on something they may have never even noticed before. The butterfly series I am working on requires research, as I can't find the world's butterflies all in my own backyard. They may appear to be absolutely impossible, but each butterfly is based on a real species.
My abstract pieces are done with either pastels or mixed aqua media. The pastels are never pale or sketchy. I like it because I can get incredibly rich, intense, vibrant colors. The way I work, the pastel is rubbed in until the paper is saturated with pigment. Colors can be blended, diverge, or converge, looking very much like examples of fluid dynamics. The color flow is very organic. It feels to me that these pieces are about different energies and their interactions.
I use watercolor, acrylic inks, pearlescent inks, and sometimes bronze powders from my grandmother's art cabinet in the mixed aqua media abstracts. They are made with innumerable layers. Each layer partially obscures while still revealing something from every previous layer. The paint is not actually applied by brush. I wet an area and then drip, spatter, drop, or pour colors into it. By far the greatest amount of time I spend on these paintings is sitting and staring, trying to figure out just what colors are needed where for each new layer. The end result is evocative of great depths, often with light coming through from the very first layers. These pieces speak to me of the multidimensionality of life and the universe.
I discovered beading just after moving back to California from the East Coast about 8 years ago. All my art gear was still packed away, and I was getting antsy to start a project. One day I walked by a bead shop, and I couldn't believe all those beautiful colors! I bought a simple little pamphlet on how to bead earrings, and I was on my way. After a few months, I thought it would be lots of fun to create a beaded coral reef necklace. This required a whole new level of expertise, so I purchased a book on beaded amulet purse necklaces. I am still enjoying making up new stitches and styles. (Looms are not part of this picture. I stick to beads, thread, and incredibly skinny needles.) The necklaces can be very ornate with lots of shimmering color and twisted or branched fringe, or more sophisticated and sedate with subtle matte glass beads. The newer designs feature fresh water pearls, turquoise, lapis, malachite, tiger eye, mother of pearl, or amethyst.
Last but not least, I have a great time creating fantasy miniature shoes from polymer clay. None are meant to fit any doll's foot. These are one-of-a-kind sculptures, hand modeled and carefully painted with several layers of acrylic inks or nail polishes. The first few were inspired by imaginary characters from Oz, but then the ideas kept coming. My daughter delights in giving me new ideas, too. "How about a Peacock Shoe, Mom? What about a Moon one?" Well, this could go on a lot longer before I ever get tired of it, and I haven't even started with all those fairy tale princesses yet.
Limited edition giclee prints and hand made photographic gift card sets make the images from my original art more accessible and affordable. You can select your own group of 6 or more images for a set of cards, or choose from one of my categories. Limited edition prints may be available for paintings that are not shown in the print gallery. If I still have the painting or a large transparency of it, I will be happy to have a print edition made for you. Please see "About Prints and Cards".
Enjoy exploring the different galleries, and please sign my guest book. Include your email if you would like notices of shows, new work, etc. from me. Thank you for visiting my site.
